The measurement of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is an important health measure in the determination of health, especially cardiovascular health. It is desirable to have fast on-site measuring systems for LDL that does not require a laboratory or other facilities. In this way, health professionals may speak with patients immediately after a sample is taken, instead of having to wait days for test results to come back from a lab. In this way, the patient's history and status will be fresh in their mind and, therefore, lead to better results and analysis of patient health.
There are currently five known methods for quantifying low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol on a clinical chemistry analyzer in wet chemistry. Four of the methods are two-step reactions, where the first reagent reacts with all non-LDLs (HDL and VLDL) to produce a colorless product. Once the first reaction is complete, the addition of another reagent at a predetermined time then is utilized to quantify the remaining LDL. These methods appear to be incompatible with strip technology, as there is no way to reliably introduce multiple reagents at the critical timings needed. The final method, manufactured by Kyowa-Medex, claims to have a method where HDL and VLDL are blocked by sugar compounds (cyclodextrins), while LDL is selectively micellerized with specific surfactants and enzymes. Most importantly, the method claims to occur in one reaction which is complimentary for strip chemistry.